Most words containing an -lv- sequence insist on having the -l- pronounced, such as solve or valve. There are a few exceptions that retain the letter -l- but do not pronounce it. Consider calve, halve, and salve.
Calve, meaning to give birth, is indebted to various Germanic and Scandinavian terms meaning a bovine calf; it appeared in print in the year 1,000. Later, the word was used to describe a chunk of ice breaking off from a glacier or an iceberg.
The verb halve developed from the noun half, indebted to a combination of Germanic and
Scandinavian words meaning side. The original idea was that objects had a left side and a right side. Focusing just on one was halving the object (one-siding it). The noun half showed up in print in 700, and the verb halve in 1300.
Salve descended from various Teutonic words that were cognates to a Sanskrit word meaning oily butter. The first written instance goes back to 700.
Now available from McFarland & Co.: Word Parts Dictionary, 2nd edition
Listen to Mike’s program in real time every Tuesday morning, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. EST, by going to wtcmradio.com and clicking on Listen Now. There is now an archive of podcasts. Look under The Ron Jolly Show.
Write to Mike with comments or questions:
wordmallATaol.com
(substitute @ for AT above)
wordmallATaol.com
(substitute @ for AT above)
Visit the Senior Corner at http://seniors.tcnet.org
No comments:
Post a Comment